Long-delayed Cobell payments range from $850 to nearly $10M

Monday, May 19, 2014

Indian beneficiaries demand release of Cobell settlement funds. Photo from Katherine Ware-Perosi / Change.Org

More than 490,000 Indian beneficiaries are waiting for their second payment from the $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement but it could be months before they get the money they are owed.

Most members of the Trust Administration Class already know how much they will receive. The payments range from $850 to nearly $10 million, the Associated Press reported.

But the process has been delayed, in part due to appeals from people who believe they are entitled to a share of the settlement. About 2,400 claims were made and so far about 200 have been resolved, according to the Cobell legal team.

That leaves people like Laura Juarez in limbo. She is due to receive around $1,200 but that amount could be reduced if more beneficiaries are added to the Trust Administration Class.

“If they’re entitled to that money, that’s great — awesome — but the timing is taking way too long,” Juarez, a member of the Comanche Nation, told the AP. “A deadline is a deadline. They are holding up so many people.”

The first payment of $1,000 covered the Historical Accounting Class of the settlement. Checks were mailed in December 2012.

The Trust Administration Class is more complex. The minimum payment will be about $800 but many people will receive more, based on the level of activity in their Individual Indian Money (IIM) account.

Get the Story:
Frustration grows over $3.4B settlement delay (AP 5/18)